Interviewing Children with Disabilities: A Practical Guide for Forensic Interviewer

Interviewing children who may be victims of abuse involves special considerations for children with mental and/or physical disabilities. This requires special training for those who conduct an interview of the children and the functioning of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) working with the child. This guide first identifies and discusses the features of various types of disabilities common in children before discussing how these influence forensic interviews of children with disabilities. Forensic interviews involve numerous considerations for children with disabilities, including the language and terminology used by interviewers and MDT members, preparatory measures, modifications, and the court process. Details are discussed for each of these aspects of an interview with a child with some type of disability. Issues discussed include making the interview space physically accessible, how the child communicates most comfortably, familiar routines, sensory considerations, mental health, and cultural considerations. The MDT is also guided in the MDT’s individualized education plan to guide the child through case processing procedures.